[NA-Discuss] Proposal for North American Indigenous TLD

[Brendler, Beau]

OK. I can't go to LA next week but will try to participate remotely. 

BB

-----Original Message-----
From: Danny Younger [mailto:dannyyounger at yahoo.com] 
Sent: Friday, April 04, 2008 11:25 AM
To: Brendler, Beau; NA Discuss
Subject: RE: [NA-Discuss] Proposal for North American Indigenous TLD

Hi Beau,

The very first issue that needs to be addressed is the string itself
(NAI).

ICANN is in the process of working out new gTLD implementation
considerations, and one of the factors to be evaluated is the "GAC
Principles Regarding New gTLDs" wherein section 2.3 it is stated:  

"The process for introducing new gTLDs must make proper allowance for
prior third-party rights, in particular trademark rights..."

You will note that NAI is a trademark of Networks Associates Technology,
Inc.

The GAC language is currently buttressed by GNSO language that states:
"Strings must not infringe the existing legal rights of others that are
recognized or enforceable under generally accepted and internationally
recognized principles of law". 

However, a compelling argument against this point of view has already
been made by ICANN prior Legal Counsel Louis Touton that stated:  "the
United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has made clear that a
top-level domain name, when used as a registry under which lower-level
domain names are registered, does not function as a source identifier
subject to service-mark rights, but instead is an informational
description of the names being registered."  --
http://www.icann.org/correspondence/touton-letter-to-bank-for-internatio
nal-settlements-21may01.htm

What we will need to do is to have At-Large members interested in this
topic either attend or remotely participate in the April 10-11 new gTLD
session in LA to discuss this consideration further.

Meeting details and Agenda can be found here: 
http://gnso.icann.org/mailing-lists/archives/council/msg04906.html

If the applicant can't make it past this first hurdle (any you know how
many three letter strings are subject to trademark considerations...
probably all of them), then we are all dead in the water.

--- "Brendler, Beau" <Brenbe at consumer.org> wrote:

> I'm interested. What can we (I) do to help? 



 
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